Roundtable discussion shines a spotlight on the skills and training necessary for a strong economy and a productive, safe workforce

(Toronto, ON – September 23, 2015) – On Friday, September 25, 2015, in celebration of the sixth annual Essential Skills Day, ABC Life Literacy Canada (ABC) is hosting a roundtable discussion: Skills for Tomorrow, Today in Toronto, Ontario to shine the spotlight on the importance of literacy and essential skills (LES) in the workplace and the need for employers to invest in training their employees. This roundtable discussion will be webcast live (at http://www.vvcnetwork.ca/abc/20150925/) and shared via live-Tweets (hashtag: #ESD2015).

Roundtable participants include: Gillian Mason, President, ABC Life Literacy Canada; Warren Everson, Senior Vice President Policy, Canadian Chamber of Commerce; Scott McNeil-Smith, President, Canadian Manufacturing Network; Rob Pearson, President, The Institute for Performance and Learning; and Shaun Thorson, Executive Director, Skills Canada. The discussion will be moderated by Jim Warrington, Board Chair, ABC Life Literacy Canada.

“In today’s economy, businesses require employees to have strong literacy, numeracy and essential skills. Yet nearly half of Canadians are ill-equipped to perform at their best and respond to changes in the rapidly evolving workplace,” said Gillian Mason, President of ABC Life Literacy Canada. “Companies allocate little or no money to training their staff in the fundamental skills necessary for improving performance, indeed many do not recognize that poor essential skills may be prevalent in their business. By investing in literacy and essential skills training we can begin to close the skills gap and accelerate success in other training areas. I am thrilled to be part of this discussion that will elevate the need for and benefits of essential skills training.”

Essential Skills Day is a Canada-wide initiative celebrated annually in September to raise awareness about the importance of skills training and the nine essential skills. The day aims to demonstrate to employers and employees the importance of workforce training as a solution to unlocking a more productive Canada. This year, ABC is leveraging Essential Skills Day to enhance employers’ understanding of WLES training and its benefits, in order to increase employers’ uptake of LES training in their workplaces.  

Essential skills training in the workplace provides proven solutions for adapting to changes in business, health and safety concerns, errors and waste, incorrect paperwork and document use and communications, teamwork and leadership needs. Visit www.EssentialSkillsDay.ca for information, resources and tools to help make essential skills training a priority in workplaces across Canada. The nine essential skills, used by employees in every job are: 

• Reading Text
• Writing
• Numeracy
• Document Use
• Oral Communication
• Working with Others
• Computer Use
• Thinking Skills
• Continuous Learning

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